Travel and explore South Africa!

South African National Parks offers a variety of accommodation types and standards. Prices are
dependent on location, size of unit and quality of experience. All of our South African National
Parks offer park/camp-run accommodation. Each park/camp has its own unique selection of
accommodation types.

Conserving nature since 1926

National parks offer visitors an unparalleled diversity of adventure tourism opportunities including
game
viewing, bush walks, canoeing and exposure to cultural and historical experiences. Conferences can
also be
organised in many of the parks. Read more...

The little one kept on rolling in the mud, as if trying to disguise its strange colour with the dirt.

The baby elephant, spotted among a herd in the southern part of the Kruger National Park, could be an albino or white elephant.

The baby is believed to be about a month old, and an older sibling and its mother seemed very protective of it.

Sadly, however, it is most probably doomed as it would be susceptible to the harsh African sun.

'As they were drinking I noticed a very light one'
Odette Joubert and her husband, who have a house on the banks of the Crocodile River near Hectorspruit overlooking the Kruger Park, came across the little elephant.

"Yesterday morning (Monday) we were having breakfast when I saw the herd of elephants come to drink. As they were drinking I noticed a very light one, then they disappeared."

"Later we were lounging around the pool, and I saw the same herd and I grabbed my camera," Joubert said.

She said the herd came so close to the fence she was able to take pictures which clearly show the elephant's pink eyes and white eyelashes.

Joubert said the elephants, especially the mother and an older sibling were very protective.

"The baby kept on trying to roll in mud. Maybe he knows he is different," she said.

Joubert said she had spoken to a ranger in the park who said that albino elephants were very rare and that they might try and collar one of the herd to keep track of the group.

"They are very, very rare," said Dr Ian Whyte specialist scientist for large herbivores in the park.

"Sometimes you see some elephants with patches, particularly behind their ears, that don't have pigment. Some time ago I saw a newborn, who was pink, from a helicopter when we were doing a census.

"Maybe they are more common than we think they are but they just don't survive. It would struggle in the African sun," he said. - Environment Reporter.

A white baby elephant has been spotted in the Crocodile Bridge area. It was spotted for the first time in January. It was thought that he would not have much of a chance for survival as experts believed that he would succumb to the harsh African sun. Due to him having no pigmentation, he would be more susceptible to the sun. Apparently he is doing fine and he has been spotted fairly regularly by a ranger who works in the area. Quite amazing! Everybody going to KNP in the next couple of months must keep an eye open for him!

How often can one use the phrase "I saw a pink elephant" without referring to the heavy night of partying that they had the night before?

Yesterday, at approximately 16:20 I was crossing the Olifants River Bridge heading towards Satara when that exact phrase came out of my mouth. There was a relatively large matriarchal herd that had come down to the river for a swim and after watching them for a while, I noticed a very lightly coloured elephant calf. After looking through my binoculars and checking and double checking that I wasn't seeing things, I realised that I was looking at a pink elephant, literally.

After doing some research on this phenomenon, I have realised just how uncommon it is to see such a thing and also realised how lucky I was to be in the right place at the right time.

One question that I have is about the chances of survival of this young calf? Have the pink elephant calves that have been spotted in the park before been monitored and did any of them ever reach sub-adult/adult status?I realise that in the harsh South African sun, having an unpigmented skin can not at all be beneficial to survival but I hope in my heart of hearts that this little calf is a success story!

If anyone else has seen this calf or could provide regular updates as to its progress, that would be wonderful.

"Lose yourself in Nature and find Peace!"(Ralph Waldo Emerson)UNITE AGAINST POACHING...What we protect, do not let poachers take it away!Extinction is forever and survival is up to---every last one of us!

Yesterday I was at the Matambeni bird hide when a small herd of 19 elephant came out of the bush on the opposite side of the river. The herd contained several young and a couple of babies as well as the adults. There was a baby pink elephant in the group. At first I thought it was just coloration from rolling in the sand but on closer inspection through my 600 mm lens, I determined that it was indeed a natural pink pigmentation of the entire body of the little one and it was particularly bright behind the ears when it flapped them. The baby was accompanied at all times by what I assume was its mother and an older sibling. The pink one tended to stay in the shade of the mother and kept for the most part between the two when walking. When they got to the river and crossed it, the adults gathered around the pink one to protect it from a large croc that shadowed the group. The water is deep at that point and all you could see were trunks projecting out of the water and the little one almost riding on the backs of the adults. 3H4A1837 by mrfitzhugh, on FlickrI will try to post pictures to share this sighting.3H4A1845 by mrfitzhugh, on Flickr

Last edited by jekalo on Fri Apr 05, 2013 1:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.

jekalo wrote: I determined that it was indeed a natural pink pigmentation of the entire body of the little one and it was particularly bright behind the ears when it flapped them.

I've seen one of those too, exactly as you describe it, except it was an adult, not a baby. This pink elephant was then found early one evening in the clutches of a yellow lion. This particular young male lion had a white belly, yet he was a yellow-bellied coward. He had become separated from the rest of the pride, so there he was, muching all by himself on the pink elephant. A really fresh pink elephant too, the blood was still oozing out of the trunk. Not sure how it died, but I somehow doubt the credit belonged to the yellow lion.